Middle East
Aid convoy arrives in Gaza - (22 days ago)
Ma'an News AgencyThe al-Wafa 6 aid convoy arrived Wednesday evening in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, a statement read.More than 30 people came with the convoy carrying humanitarian aid in solidarity with Gaza and will stay for several days.Al-Wafa has sent several convoys of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. In 2012, the convoy was organized by the Charitable Association
Iran cancels visa requirements for Egyptians - (22 days ago)
The Iranian government approved on Tuesday a draft resolution to cancel visa requirements for Egyptian tourists, reported an Iranian news agency.Egyptians are allowed to stay for a 20-day visit in Iran, according to Feras news agency.Ties between Egypt and Iran have improved significantly over the past few months after the election of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Diplomatic relations between
Youth voice hope for change in static Palestinian politics - (23 days ago)
Far from the children who beg for change from idling cars and the teenagers who hurl rocks at armed Israeli troops, a different spectacle of Palestinian youth is playing out in the ballroom of a luxury Ramallah hotel. Young contestants are gathered for a taping of "The President", a game show that aims to select a "new leader" for the Palestinians based on their views on the pressing
Algeria contemplates future without ailing Bouteflika - (24 days ago)
Ill-health may force veteran Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, now in hospital in Paris, to hasten his departure from power, plunging a youthful, restless nation into an uncertain political transition.Algeria, led by Bouteflika since 1999, has for decades drawn its presidents from an ageing cohort of men who won their spurs in the bitter 1954-62 independence war with
Gaza strike kills militant behind Eilat attack: Israel - (24 days ago)
AFPAn Israeli air strike on Gaza City killed one person on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, with Israel saying it targeted a militant involved in a rocket attack on Eilat.The military confirmed the strike saying it had targeted a "global jihad terrorist" who was linked to a rocket attack on Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat on April 17."A man in his 20s was martyred and another injured in an
Grand Imam hails UAE move to release 103 Egyptian prisoners - (24 days ago)
The NationalSheikh Khalifa also pledged to settle the financial obligations of the prisoners, whose release was announced on Monday.In addition to supervising Cairo's Al Azhar Mosque, Dr El Tayyeb is president of Al Azhar University. He expressed his appreciation of Sheikh Khalifa's decision to fund projects worth Dh250 million at the university, the state news agency Wam reported."This is
Saudi-Egypt air bridge opens for transfer of aid to Gaza - (24 days ago)
Middle East MonitorAn air bridge between Saudi Arabia and Egypt's El-Arish International Airport started on Monday to transfer medical supplies provided by the Kingdom to the Gaza Strip. The first flight carried about 10 tons of medicines and medical equipment, which will be driven from El-Arish to the Rafah border crossing.A representative of the Saudi Health Ministry, Dr. Tariq Al-Arnoosi,
Egyptian accused of spying for Israel interrogated by state security - (24 days ago)
Ahram OnlineState security prosecutors have started interrogating an Egyptian national accused of spying for Israel, Judge Hisham El-Qarmouty, general attorney of the State Security High Prosecution, said on Tuesday.This month, an Israeli spy jailed in Egypt began a hunger strike demanding to be released. Ouda Trabin, a Bedouin, was arrested in Egypt 12 years ago on charges of espionage and
Libya aims to end fuel subsidies in three years - (24 days ago)
Libya will join its neighbors in tackling sensitive fuel market reforms and plans to do away with all subsidies within three years, Oil Minister Abdelbari al-Arusi said. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates over 14 percent of Libyas budget or about $7 billion will be swallowed up by subsidies for food and fuel, which the government says are ineffective because they encourage
Yemen pipeline attacked, oil flow halts - (24 days ago)
AFPSaboteurs on Tuesday blew up the main pipeline linking oilfields in Yemen's eastern Marib province to an export terminal on the Red Sea, almost halting the flow of oil, officials said. The armed group attacked the pipeline in the Wadi Abida area of Marib, the local government officials told AFP. "Oil flow came to a near complete halt," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.The
Tunisia's Ben Ali handed third life sentence - (24 days ago)
AFPTunisia's military court in Sfax, southeast Tunisia, convicted Ben Ali on Tuesday over the violent repression of protests in the region during the revolution in which one person died and two others were injured, the official TAP news agency reported.The interior minister at the time, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, was given a 10-year jail term while the former head of the presidential guard, Ali Seriati,
Running the gauntlet: delivering food in Syria - (24 days ago)
Matthew Hollingworth, the head of the World Food Programme's Syria operation said in an interview last week that WFP is trying to feed 2.5 million people every month inside Syria - a tenth of the population - and a million outside, in a conflict that has left 70,000 dead. He says his organisation will need to almost double the number of people it reaches by the end of the year."It's no secret
Armed men surround Libya justice ministry - (24 days ago)
AFPArmed men demanding the expulsion of officials from the former regime of ousted Libyan leader Muamer Gaddafi Tuesday surrounded the justice ministry in Tripoli, where the foreign ministry has similarly been encircled for the past three days, an official said."Several armed men in vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns surrounded the ministry of justice," Walid Ben Rabha, head of the
Bomb in central Damascus kills 13, wounds 70 - (24 days ago)
ReutersSyrian state television said 70 people were wounded, several critically. The British-based Syrian Observatory reported 9 dead civilians and 3 security men and said the death toll was likely to rise.Pro-government Al-Ikhbariya television showed firefighters running through thick smoke after the blast in Marjeh Square. Two bodies could be seen on the ground. The target of the attack was not
Blast in central Damascus, casualties: State TV - (24 days ago)
AFPA blast rocked the central Damascus district of Marjeh on Tuesday causing casualties, Syrian state television said, with an AFP correspondent reporting automatic arms fire after the explosion."Terrorist explosion in Marjeh district of Damascus and preliminary information on casualties," state television reported.The explosion, which state media said also caused damage at the scene, came near
Palestinian killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrike - (24 days ago)
An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian and wounded another in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said, in the first targeted attack against militants since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November. An Israeli government spokesman said the military had hit a "jihadi who was an expert in manufacturing rockets". He added that the man had "played a role" in a rocket attack from
Lebanon's Hezbollah faithful ready to die in Syria - (24 days ago)
AFPHezbollah commander Hussein Habib's family is still mourning his death in Syria, where he fought alongside regime soldiers. But they say they are ready to offer another son up as a "martyr".In their town of Baalbek and other strongholds of Shiite movement Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon, it's no longer a secret that the group's members are crossing the border to bolster the ranks of government
Saudi police nab wanted Shiite after gunfight - (24 days ago)
AFPSaudi police arrested a Shiite activist wanted on security-related charges after a gunfight in the kingdom's Eastern province, scene to sporadic protests since early 2011, the interior ministry said.Abdullah al-Asreeh, one of 23 Shiites on a wanted list for allegedly fomenting trouble in the eastern region, was arrested along with an unarmed man who faces charges of selling drugs and alcohol,
Arab League seems to soften Israeli-Palestinian peace plan - (24 days ago)
ReutersSheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, made the comment after he and a group of Arab officials met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss how to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace. Speaking on behalf of an Arab League delegation, Sheikh Hamad appeared to make a concession to Israel by explicitly raising the possibility of land swaps, although
Netanyahu says Iran yet to cross nuclear 'red line' - (24 days ago)
AFPIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that Tehran's nuclear programme was getting closer to crossing a crucial "red line" but had yet to reach it."It has not yet crossed the red line which I laid out in the United Nations but it is systematically approaching it and we cannot let it cross," he told senior members of his Likud-Beitenu political alliance in remarks broadcast
Russian liner escapes rockets over Syria - (24 days ago)
Journal of Turkish WeeklyTwo rockets were on Monday fired at a Russian passenger plane carrying holidaymakers as it flew over Syria, DPA reported.The plane with some 200 passengers on board, managed to avoid two surface-to-air missiles, which subsequently exploded close to it, a unnamed source told the Interfax news agency.Nobody was hurt, the report said. The liner belonging to an unnamed
Attack on Syria PM reflects growing influence of rebels - (24 days ago)
ReutersSyria's prime minister survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on Monday, as rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar al-Assad's capital.Six people were killed in the blast, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Previous rebel attacks on government targets included a December bombing which wounded Assad's interior minister.As prime minister, Wael
Armed protest in Libya prompts congress to postpone sitting - (24 days ago)
ReutersLibya's foreign ministry remained surrounded on Monday by heavily armed protesters, a tense demonstration of militia force that prompted the legislature to postpone its next sitting.Militiamen surrounded the ministry on Sunday with pick-up trucks loaded with anti-aircraft guns and armed groups also tried unsuccessfully to storm the interior ministry and the state news agency, posing a
Syria access essential for credible chemical weapons inquiry: UN - (24 days ago)
ReutersUN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that investigators have been gathering and analyzing available information on alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but access to the war-torn country is needed for a "credible and comprehensive inquiry."The issue of possible chemical attacks by President Bashar al-Assad's government has become a crucial factor that could lead to the United States
UAE freeing 103 Egyptian prisoners amid tensions - (25 days ago)
The Associated PressThe United Arab Emirates is releasing more than 100 Egyptian prisoners in a gesture toward easing strained ties over political crackdowns on groups allegedly linked to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.The releases do not appear to include those held as part of recent arrests linked to political opposition, including more than a dozen Egyptians. Others in custody include UAE
Police, army nab huge stash of hash on Egyptian border - (25 days ago)
The Times of IsraelThe police’s anti-smuggling unit busted two men Sunday night who allegedly attempted to smuggle 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of hashish over the Egyptian border.An IDF patrol pursued the suspects, residents of the southern Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj, until they were caught by police officers. During the chase, the suspects hurled the drugs from their vehicle but failed
Influential Muslim cleric Qaradawi to visit Gaza - (25 days ago)
Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi said he will lead a delegation of clerics next week on a support visit to Hamas-ruled Gaza, a local daily reported Monday.Qaradawi, an Egyptian who is also a citizen of Qatar and close to the Muslim Brotherhood, will travel to Gaza on May 8 along with a delegation of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, he told Al-Arab daily.The aim of
Iraq parliament chief calls for govt to resign - (25 days ago)
AFPParliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi called on Monday for the cabinet to resign and for early elections to be held, as a seven-day wave of violence killed more than 230 people in Iraq.The initiative is aimed at "national reconciliation and maintaining the gains of democracy," as well as "sparing the country from the spectre of civil war and sectarian strife," Nujaifi's office said in a
Syrian PM survives assassination bid: State TV - (25 days ago)
AFPSyrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi escaped an assassination bid on Monday, surviving a blast against his convoy in Damascus, in the latest attack on top members of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.The attack came as Republican lawmakers in the United States stepped up calls for American action after claims Assad's regime used chemical weapons against its population during its battle against
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BBC SportWhen it's put to him that he might be the most talented athlete in the world to hold a racquet, a bashful Ramy Ashour admits "that's pretty great".The 25-year-old Egyptian is more than just the current squash world number one - his elastic, unorthodox brilliance and charisma could be the key to squash breaking out beyond its four walls and regaining a place on the wider sporting
Ministers in Prime Minister Hisham Qandil's cabinet following the recent reshuffle (new appointees are in italics): 1. Minister of Agriculture Ahmed Mahmoud Ali El-Gizawi2. Minister of Antiquities Ahmed Eissa3. Minister of Aviation Wael Maadawi4. Minister of Communication Atef Helmy5. Minister of Culture
AP— April 15, 2013: Two bombs explode in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 140.— January 17, 2011: A backpack bomb is placed along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Washington, meant to kill and injure participants in a civil rights march, but is found and disabled before it can explode. White
The convenient marriage between Iran and the Arab left would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, given the traditional ideological paradoxes between patriarchal Persian Shiism, on the one hand, and leftist orthodoxy on the other.Indeed, a casual viewer of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, or the Iranian-funded Al-Mayadin TV, these days would probably think that the two Shia propaganda
